Slawberry Kisses
by bluecatcinema
Summary: When a slawberry shortage hits Marzipan City, Chowder is forced to do the unthinkable to assuage his desperate taste buds...
1. Birthday Kiss

**Slawberry Kisses**

**Chapter One: Birthday Kiss**

For Chowder, young purple bunny-cat-kid and apprentice chef, it was a terrific day, his thirteenth birthday. A lot had changed over the years, but his love of food was the same as it had ever been. At the moment, he was on his way to Gazpacho's fruit stand, having been sent by Mung to pick up the slawberries needed to make Chowder's most favorite dish in the world: Slawberry cake. The mere thought of the confectionery delight was enough to make him drool enough to fill a small canal.

As he made his way down to Marzipan City's marketplace, something happened to take Chowder's mind off of slawberry cake: He ran into Panini.

"Happy birthday, num-nums!" Panini gushed.

"I'm not your boyfriend!" screamed Chowder, his attitude toward Panini having not changed over the years, either. "Did you get me anything?" he asked hopefully. "I loves me some birthday presents!"

"Oh, I got you something, alright." Panini purred. "A great big birthday kiss!" she declared, puckering up and reaching for Chowder.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" screamed Chowder, turning tail and running at a speed that should not have impossible for someone of his pudgy build.

"You can't run away from our love forever, birthday boy!" called Panini as she gave chase, not in the least bit phased by her would-be beau's reaction.

Chowder knew the maze-like ways of the market stalls well, and eventually managed to give Panini the slip. Breathing a sigh of relief, he made his way to Gazpacho's stall.

"Hey, Gazpacho!" called Chowder.

"Hey, little buddy!" replied Gazpacho. "Congrats on the big one-three! You're gonna have a great year, I just know it!"

"Thanks. But you know what's really gonna be great? Having a huge, ginormous slawberry birthday cake! Are the slawberries all ready to go?" Chowder asked excitedly.

"Ooh, sorry, little buddy." said Gazpacho, in a sad tone. "There's a slawberry shortage these days."

"Whaaaat?" asked Chowder increduously.

"Yeah, most of the crops got eaten by loco-custs, just last week." Gazpacho stated matter-of-factly. "With slawberry supplies as low as they are right now, I'm afraid I won't be able to get any in for months."

"Aw, man!" moaned Chowder bitterly.

"I got plenty of other fruit though." offered Gazpacho. "Any of them would make a delicious cake. How about some bluenanas?"

"Yeah, sure." said Chowder, in a tone that made it seem like he was on his way to a funeral.

Having procured his substitute supplies, Chowder made his way home in a state of utter depression, so lost in his bitterness and dissapointment that he didn't notice Panini until she was right in front of him.

"Gotcha, num-nums!" she cried out in triumph. Before Chowder could muster up any sort of defense, she grabbed him and kissed him right on the lips. At that moment, Chowder's mood switched from depression to sheer horror.

"!" he screamed once more, only this time at a pitch high enough to shatter glass, and ran off again, at an acceleration that made his previous speed seem like a tortoise jogging. Chowder didn't stop running until he made it all the way back to Mung Daal's Catering Company, pausing only to drop off the bluenanas in kitchen, and kept on going until he reached the safety of his room.

"No, no, no, no, no!" Chowder repeated. "This is the worst birthday ever! This is..." He stopped for a moment, his disgust momentarily stalled by a strange sensation in his mouth.

"Why do I taste slawberries?" Chowder wondered aloud.

It was some time before Chowder's seldom-used brain managed to figure out the answer to his question.

"Panini!" he declared. "She tastes of... slawberries! On, cruel fate! How could you combine the tastiest thing on Earth with the ickiest girl in the world? I can't believe the closest I got to slawberries today was being kissed by... Wait a minute!"

Twice in one day, Chowder's brain whirred into action.

"Kimchi!" Chowder addressed the living flatulus cloud by his bed. "There's a slawberry shortage, right?"

"Prrrrt!" Kimchi replied

"A shortage that could last for months, correct?"

"Phhrrrt!"

"And Panini's kisses taste like slawberries. Which means, if I ever want to taste slawberries any time soon, I'm gonna have to... KISS PANINI!" Chowder finished, utterly disgusted by the thought.

"Prrt!" uttered Kimchi.

"I know, it's gross." agreed Chowder. "I can't do it! But, the slawberries... yum! But, Panini... ew! Slawberries, Panini, Slawberries, Panini... What am I gonna do, Kimchi?"

"Prrrt!" responded Kimchi.

"Oh, that's your answer to everything." said Chowder irritably.

**To Be continued...**

_(Chowder and all related characters are the property of Cartoon Network.)_


	2. Kiss Player

**Slawberry Kisses**

**Chapter Two: Kiss Player**

The next morning, Chowder was walking through the market place, steeling himself for what he was about to do. He had decided that, gross as getting kissed by Panini was, it was the only chance he would have in possibly months to taste those sweet, sweet slawberries... which was why, for the first time ever, Chowder was looking for Panini, instead of vice-versa.

After over an hour of searching, Chowder was finally successful: He spotted Panini across the market, her back to him. Taking a deep breath of commitance, Chowder quickly walked over to Panini, and embraced her.

"Chowder?" Panini inquired, both surprised and delighted by Chowder's sudden act of affection.

"Hi... pum-pums!" said Chowder, thinking up the nickname on the spot. "How's my gi... gi..." Almost choking on the word, he managed to spit it out. "Girlfriend today?"

"Girlfriend?" Panini repeated, unable to believe her large pink ears. "You mean..."

"Yeah, I would like to be your boyfriend, Panini." said Chowder.

"You would?" Panini screeched in delight.

"Nothing would make me happier." gulped Chowder, just barely concealing his grimace.

"I knew it!" declared Panini. "I always knew one day you'd realise you loved me back! It was the kiss, wasn't it?"

"The kiss?" repeated Chowder, slightly panicked. Have Panini seen through his ruse?

"They say nothing is more powerful then true love's first kiss." simpered Panini. "It helped you realise your true feelings for me, didn't it?

"It sure did." Chowder agreed. "But how about another, just in case?"

"With pleasure." Panini purred, pulling Chowder in for a smooch.

Though still disgusted by the act of spit-swapping, Chowder endured by focusing on the taste of slawberries emanating from Panini's mouth.

"So," Panini said hopefully, "Now that we're really boyfriend and girlfriend, how about we go on an actual date?"

"Oh, I'd love to, but, ummm..." Chowder stuttered, trying to think of an excuse, "...Mung needs my help to fill this really huge order, so I'm gonna be stuck in the kitchen all day!"

Oh, okay." said Panini, crestfallen.

"Some other time, maybe?" offered Chowder.

"You can count on that." Panini purred again, gave Chowder another quick kiss before heading home. "See ya soon, num-nums!"

Chowder was elated. His plan had worked. Now, whenever he felt the urge to taste slawberries, he would simply find Panini and have her kiss him. He could assuage his cravings fee of charge! He felt a tiny bit guilty over manipulating her like that, but as usual, his stomach overruled his brain, and for the next week, he would take kisses from Panini, and then make up weak excuses as to why he couldn't spend any time with her.

The following Onesday, Chowder was at Gazpacho's stand, collecting more ingredients for his cooking master.

"Hey, good news, little buddy." said Gazpacho. "The slawberry shortage is over!"

"It is?" replied Chowder, sure that he was dreaming.

"Yeah." confirmed Gazpcho. "The police nabbed this crook, who had a huge supply of slawberries stashed away. They seized his assets, and spread 'em out all over. Should last us until the crops grow back."

"Oh, that's good." sighed Chowder. "Now I don't have to pretend to like Panini anymore."

Unfortunately for Chowder, Panini had snuck up on him, hoping to surprise him, and had heard his last sentence.

"How do ya mean, little buddy?" asked Gazpacho.

"Well, you see, Panini's kisses kinda taste like slawberries." said Chowder. "So I pretended to like her so she'd kiss me. And it worked! All week, whenever I felt like getting a taste of slawberries? Boom! I got it whenever I wanted it!"

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!" Panini screeched, now right behind Chowder. "You pretended you liked me, all this time, just to satisfy your cravings?"

"W-well, I, uh..." Chowder trembled. Panini was usually a cute little thing, but when she got angry, she became downright terrifying.

"You lied to me, you used me, and now you've just bragged to Gazpacho about how you lied to me and used me!" Panini raged her eyes full of tears.

"B-but..." started Chowder, but was stopped from going any further by Panini slapping him across the face.

"Never come near again." seethed Panini. "Never talk to me, or even look at me, ever again. I'm done with you, Chowder." And with that, she turned around and stalked off.

Chowder felt bad, and not just because he'd been slapped across the face. As he watched Panini leave, the guilt he had held in week seemed to explode, filling him with intense feelings of regret.

"I've really messed things up, haven't I?" Chowder asked Gazpacho.

"Well, that's what you get for going around kissing girls." stated Gazpacho matter-of-factly. "That's why mother doesn't let me kiss any girls, not even herself."

Chowder ran after Panini. He didn't know how or why, but he felt like he had to fix things, to make them right again, no matter what.

**To be concluded...**

_(Chowder and all related characters are the property of Cartoon Network.)_


	3. Truth of the Heart

**Slawberry Kisses**

**Chapter Three: Truth of the Heart**

As Chowder frantically waddled his way through the marketplace, searching for Panini, he started doing something he didn't do an awful lot of: thinking. Why was he feeling so bad at having tricked Panini? He had thought that the strange feeling in his head he got after having Panini kiss him was just guilt, but it was actually something else, something that confused him. If it wasn't guilt he was feeling, then what was it?

Chowder cast his mind back to the events of the past week. Every day, he had hurried to get his "fix" from Panini, to assuage his cravings for sweet, sweet slawberries. But somewhere along the way, something changed. Though he hadn't known it at the time, Chowder had started liking the taste of Panini's kisses less, and started enjoying the sensation, the feeling of warmth as their lips met. Not only that, but the moments they spent together between those kisses, Chowder had felt less nervous and repelled by Panini's antics, to the point where he was only haf-heartedly making excuses to get away from her. Deep down, Chowder had known that his feelings for her had changed, but he refused to admit it... until now, when he was confronted with the possibility of Panini getting out of his life for good. Only a few weeks ago, that possibility would have filled Chowder with elation, but things had changed. He knew that now, and he was determined not to lose Panini.

He finally found Panini behind a utensil stand, sobbing her heart out. Just the sight of her in such pain made Chowder feel even guiltier then he already did, and instilled within him a yearning to use everything in his power to comfort her.

"Panini?" Chowder inquired tentatively.

"Go away." sniffed Panini. "I don't ever want to see you again, you lying jerk!"

"Yeah, I did lie to you." admitted Chowder. "But I'm really sorry, I swear!"

"Oh, yeah?" said Panini. "And how do I know you're not lying now?"

"You don't." replied Chowder. "Just listen to what I have to say, then you can decide whether or not to believe me."

"Okay." said Panini warily.

"To begin with, I only wanted you to kiss me because your kisses taste of slawberries." explained Chowder. "Because of the shortage, I was so desperate to get that taste, I was willing to do anything for it."

"I see." snarled Panini, her temper flaring up again.

"But it wasn't always like that." continued Chowder. "Over this past week, I've started to really like hanging around with you, and not just because of the kisses."

"You have?" asked Panini, her hopes raising.

"Yeah," admitted Chowder sheepishly. "And I really started to feel bad for tricking you. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you the truth. And the truth is... I do like you."

"You do?" asked Panini, both elated and suspicious. Composing herself, she said "How do I know you're not lying again?"

"If I were lying, would I do this?" asked Chowder, before doing something he'd never done: He embraced Panini and kissed her full on the lips. "Now do you believe me?"

Panini didn't answer. She was drifting in a sea of euphoria, an ocean of bliss.

"Panini?" called Chowder. "I said 'Do you believe me?'"

"I do now." murmured Panini happily, before collapsing into Chowder's arms.

"Are you okay?" asked Chowder, slightly worried.

"Never been better." sighed Panini.

"That's a relief." said "I thought I'd broken you, or something."

"You know," declared Panini, getting to her feet. "If you'd wanted a kiss, all you had to do was ask."

"Funny how that never occurred to me." smiled Chowder.

"So, does this mean..." Panini asked hopefully.

"Yep." said Chowder. "I _am_ your boyfriend."

Overcome with glee, Panini hugged Chowder joyfully, and Chowder hugged her back.

"Now then," said Panini. Might we finally go on that date I've been asking about this past week?"

"You bet... pum-pums." Chowder chuckled, bringing Panini in for another kiss. "Man, if I knew how much fun this kissing stuff could really be, I would've taken it up years ago!"

"Well, you know what that means." purred Panini. "You've got to make up for lost time."

"With pleasure." Chowder purred back, and the two embraced yet again, longer and more passionately then they had done all week. When they had finished, the two young lovers held hands and walked home, bathed in the orange glow of the setting sun.

**The End**

_(Chowder and all associated characters are the property of Cartoon Network Studios.)_


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